


There's Something About Camille

by sleeplittlechild



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Ace/Aro Flux Raphael, M/M, Mind Control, Sire Control
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 15:59:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9190535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeplittlechild/pseuds/sleeplittlechild
Summary: Living in Hotel DuMort, Simon's been having some trouble sleeping. He keeps seeing Camille, but Raphael assures him that Camille is done.





	1. Chapter 1

Raphael leaned over the war-table. His eyes jumped from document to document. Topics on the papers ranged from blood supply to development of the hotel and reports of the residents.

“We should be fine until the end of May, but that’ll spread us pretty thin.” Lily mirrored his stance on the other side. “We should plan for a new shipment in the next few weeks.”

“Take Sophie with you next Thursday and get it.” Lily nodded and wrote it down on a scrap piece of paper. Raphael picked up one report; one he had pushed to the edge of the table. He dreaded reading this one: how much unsettlement Hotel DuMort housed.

Lily caught him reading. She stared at her writing, trying to be nonchalant. “It’s not much. The usual fights breaking out – roughhousing going too far. But…that are a few…”

“A few…what?” Raphael growled out.

Lily was not intimidated. “There’s been some talk of leaving with Camille. Starting a new clan with her.”

He didn’t need to breathe, but Raphael sighed loudly. “Because that concludes in a long, long life.”

“Well, the way you’ve been acting doesn’t look any better to some people.”

Raphael’s head shot to look at her. “And what is that supposed to mean?” He dropped the paper much harder than he should have, but his attention was somewhere else.

Lily was still not intimidated. “The fledgling. His friends like to think that this is a revolving door of information…and you seem to like to give into him. That doesn’t do much to ensure safety around here.”

Raphael rolled his eyes, rubbing at his forehead. “I’ve been trying to work on that.”

“Well, you might want to work harder.” Lily smiled sickly sweet. Raphael didn’t appreciate it, but Lily was right. He was giving Simon too much free-leisure. He needed to be tougher on the boy. He groaned, turning his back on her so he wouldn’t have to admit defeat.

Lily didn’t say anything about it: Something else caught her attention. She heard footsteps out in the hall. Turning her head, she just caught herself from groaning. “Speak of the Devil.” Raphael raised an eyebrow at her and she jabbed her pen at the door.

Simon.

Raphael pursed his lips. “Not a word.” Lily raised her hands in defeat, but she was still smiling as Raphael went out the door.

“Simon, you should be asleep. It’s nearly daybreak.” Simon wasn’t looking at him. Raphael noticed his hands wrapped around his small body, like he was hugging himself for comfort. “Simon…what is it?” Simon muttered something under his breath. “What?”

“I can’t sleep.” He said again, just loud enough for Raphael to hear. Simon looked up for a quick second, looking at Lily. She gave no sign that she was listening to them, but that was the awesomeness of Vampires, wasn’t it? You didn’t even have to try.

Raphael held back a groan. “Have you tried?” He didn’t have time for this mundane-pity-party that Simon loved to throw.

Simon’s hands gripped harder. “ _Yes_. I’ve been trying for an hour and a half. I _can’t_ sleep.” He actually managed to sound threatening, if he wasn’t so much like a child in this moment.

Raphael took pity on him, stepping closer and lowering his voice for some semblance of privacy. “What’s wrong?”

Simon’s gaze pilfered left to right to left to right. “I keep having dreams…”

“Simon, vampires doesn’t dream.”

“Well then I had a vision!” Simon snapped. He finally raised his head, angry and tired eyes drilling holes into Raphael. “O-or I’m hallucinating! I’m going crazy! I don’t care! Camille won’t leave me alone!”

Raphael ran Simon into the wall, covering his mouth with his hand. “Keep your voice down.” He warned. Simon stared back just a little scared before the moment passed. They both relaxed, moving back from each other. Raphael took a fake breath to calm down before he spoke. “What do you mean?”

Simon lowered his gaze again, hands going back to the opposite elbow. “I keep… _seeing_ Camille. She’s talking to me…sometimes I see her, sometimes I just hear her.” Simon pulled a hand through his hair, just a bit too hard. “I can’t sleep.”

Raphael nodded. He needed to choose his words carefully. Who knew who was listening…but even vampires needed to rest. He stepped closer again. One hand carded through Simon’s hair, much more gentle and comforting. Simon visibly relaxed, shoulders dropping and eyes closing. They didn’t speak for a moment, just enjoyed the silence.

“Camille is gone. She won’t be back anytime soon. And the clan will be ready to fight her.” He pulled back his hand. A small groan slipped out Simon, but Raphael wouldn’t point it out. “Call your Shadowhunter. I’m sure she can bore you to sleep.”

“Hey…” Raphael was sure the word was meant to be chastising, but Simon was much too tired for that. Raphael took an elbow and turned Simon around, pointing him in the direction of the bedrooms. Simon, just to be a fuss, stomped his feet all the way back.

Raphael turned himself around, walking back into the room. Lily was still ‘writing’, failing to hide a smile. “Not a word.” Lily shifted her eyes, as if to say ‘I wasn’t going to say anything.’ Raphael braced against the table, shoulders hunched. Lily put down her papers, stepping closer. “What is it?”

Raphael gripped the table closer. “Camille may still be a problem for us.”

Lily sucked in a breath. Her hands curled in fists. “What do you want to do?”

Raphael looked over all the reports. _He_ was the leader of Hotel DuMort. He needed to do _something_. If not…Camille could overturn everything he was trying to accomplish.

“We need to quiet the rumors. We need to finish her before she can do anything.”

Lily nodded. “I’m behind you in this.”

Raphael nodded back. He knew he could trust Lily. He worried for who would trust Camille.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Clary did end up putting Simon to sleep, talking about boring things like their times up at Luke’s farm and telling old jokes from Prom. Before he knew it, his phone was smooshed against his face and in danger of being drooled on, if he still drooled.

When he got up, the bedrooms were pretty quiet. Even after night had fallen, usually there would still be people hiding up in their rooms. It was basically just a giant dorm, the hotel. But there was nobody. It couldn’t be everyone was out hunting; there was always blood in the hotel and even when that was low, Raphael sent out small groups. The hotel felt…empty.

“Where is everyone?” Simon wondered aloud. Well, if they were anywhere, the lobby of the hotel would be a good start. Simon closed the door to his room, locking it, and made his way down the hall.

Apparently, the lobby was an _excellent_ start. Every vampire in the clan was there, squashed together on the steps and lining the walls of the lobby. Simon pushed his way through, ignoring the glares he got from a few others, until he could see. Raphael was in the center, talking with a few others in hushed voices even he couldn’t hear. Simon spotted Lily beside him. He couldn’t discern Raphael’s expression, but Lily seemed wavering between stern and concerned. “What’s going on?”

“Oh! Well, good morning, sleepy head.” The vampire beside him, a tanned guy named Nokin, smiled at him. He was practically bouncing on his feet. “Guess you wouldn’t have heard. ‘pparently, Raph and the others staked Camille.”

Simon’s eyes went wide. “……what?”

“I don’t believe it.” Simon spun around. On his left, a latina vampire named Michelle seemed like Nokin’s exact opposite. Her brown eyes were trained on the group, small slits focused on a target. “Killing Camille without her officially announcing Raphael as the new Head? We’re gonna have every vampire with an ego the size of Miami scrambling to appoint himself. Raphael’s gonna have a bloodbath on his hands.” She broke her gaze to point a finger at Nokin. “No jokes.”

Nokin stuck out his tongue at her.

 _Camille’s…gone? Literally gone?_ Simon gripped the stairs railing till his knuckles turned white. How he hoped it was true.

Suddenly, Raphael raised his hands. In a wave, the clan went quiet. The group dispersed and Raphael strode forward. His head swiveled, addressing the entire clan. “Tonight…we have a situation before us. Tonight, while getting our latest supply, our group encountered Camille Belcourt, our former leader. Now, it is against our laws to attack another vampire seeking refuge. But that was not the case tonight. Camille attacked our members – _her_ members. _Your family_. – for her own purposes. She has betrayed the clan that she once protected and for that, she had but one price to pay.” He made a sweeping motion. To his left, a small blonde came forward and laid something in his hands. Simon could see it was a necklace – the great blue pendant and sparkling gold of the one she wore the first time he saw her. “I stand here, and make my claim, that by our laws, Camille Belcourt is no more. Raphael Santiago is the Head of the DuMort clan.”

“Raphael!” Lily shouted.

“Raphael!” The clan shouted back. “Raphael! Raphael! Raphael!”

Cheers and celebrations echoed out through the lobby. Looks of joy and relief spread through Hotel. Simon didn’t feel any of it. He kept looking at Raphael, who didn’t seem as confident as Simon would’ve expected.

* * *

 

“So…is that how most vampires become head?” Raphael turned. Simon, who seemed very well-rested, came shuffling into the office. It was an extension of Raphael’s bedroom – the part where he met with people. It had been Camille’s parlor, but she preferred to ‘dine’ with guests out in the open, so she had given it to him when he became important enough. It worked.

Out in the hallway, the sounds of the party trickled in. The clan was celebrating without a care. Raphael was sure a few humans had been found and secreted in, but so long as no one was hurt, he wouldn’t stop the fun.

Simon kicked his sneakers against the marble, hands in his pockets. It was an amusing sight. “Not even close. Usually there’s a whole blood sacrifice. And don’t scuff the floor.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

Raphael raised an eyebrow.

Simon chuckled, only slightly forced. His hands fidgeted in his jeans, body swaying side to side. He had something to say. “Simon, what is it?”

“How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Lie.”

Raphael crossed his arms. “What are you talking about?”

“Camille isn’t dead. You wouldn’t kill her. So how did you lie to all of them?”

Raphael bit his tongue. He focused on the mild pain to sort out his thoughts. “She attacked us. What makes you think I wouldn’t hesitate to kill her?”

Simon quirked his mouth, like he was thinking about it. “The first thing you’re always telling me is that we protect our own. You may hate Camille, but you’re not about to kill a fellow vampire, no matter how bitchy she is.”

“The first thing I’m always telling you is you need to keep training to use your powers.” The words were an admonishment, but there was no real heat behind them. Raphael stepped closer, staring Simon dead in the eye. “I didn’t lie, Simon. Camille is dead.”

Simon stared back. He couldn’t hear any inconsistency, any hesitance, any sign that Raphael was lying. “Camille is dead.” He echoed.

Raphael nodded. “So why don’t you go join the party? You have as much reason to celebrate as the rest of us.” He walked Simon to the door.

“You’re the Man of the Hour – This party is all about how you’re the new leader. Why aren’t you doing anything?”

“I don’t like parties.”

“Why does that not surprise me?”

Raphael rolled his eyes. He lightly shoved Simon out the door and closed it behind him. Simon smirked, walking away to his own room.

 _Camille is dead_.

Why did it still feel like a lie?

 


End file.
